Various types of dispensing mechanisms have been used depending on the types of food products or goods vended. One well known type of dispensing mechanisms is a spiral type dispensing mechanism which is used to vend bottles or cans.
Spiral type dispensing mechanisms include a vertical shaft with end portions journaled at the upper and lower ends of a storage area. A spiral or helical element is disposed around and connected to the vertical shaft for rotation with the shaft. The articles or package goods are loaded along the spiral element and the vertical shaft. These packages are moved downwardly by the rotation of the spiral element and delivered one by one from the lower end of the shaft.
In this type of mechanism, the spiral element is located adjacent to each of the packages, i.e., the spiral element extends between the upper and lower portions of each package and forms an axial gap between adjacent packages. However, since each package must be loaded into the axial gaps of the spiral element one by one, the number of articles or packages which can be loaded into a predetermined space is reduced. Also, loading of the articles into the dispensing mechanism is complicated and time consuming.
Another type of dispensing mechanism, known as a chain-elevator type dispensing mechanism, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,135. Chain-elevator type dispensing mechanisms are suitable for vending packages or cartons. A chain-elevator type dispensing mechanism includes a plurality of supporting elements, each of which carries articles or packages. The supporting elements are connected to a chain, which is vertically moved due to operation of a motor. In this mechanism, the construction of the operative elements is very complicated, and the loading of packages or articles is difficult.
A slant shelf type dispensing mechanism is another well known type of dispensing mechanism for vending bottles or cans. A slant shelf type dispensing mechanism, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,624, includes at least one slanted shelf member, which acts as a guide for dispensing articles, and a delivery member for dispensing the articles one by one from the slant shelf member. However, construction of this type mechanism is very complicated and expensive, and loading of the articles into the storage area is complicated. Also, since the distance between the delivery member and a delivery tray is generally long, articles may be damaged during delivery by striking against the delivery tray.